ANTHONY L. TERREZZA, JR. CELEBRATED HIS RETIREMENT AFTER 19 YEARS OF PUBLIC SERVICE. ANTHONY HAS A PROUD HISTORY OF SERVICE TO THE TOWNSHIP OF UNION AS AN ELECTED OFFICIAL AND AS A 10 YEAR MEMBER OF THE PLANNING BOARD.
ANTHONY WAS BORN IN 1941 TO VIOLET (NEE VALVANO) AND ANTHONY L. SR. THIS NEWARK, NEW JERSEY NATIVE LEARNED EARLY THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY AND COMMUNITY. GRADUATING FROM THE NEWARK PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM, HE CONTINUED HIS EDUCATION AT THOMAS EDISON STATE COLLEGE, EARNING AN A.A. DEGREE IN BUSINESS. ANTHONY’S EARLY CAREER LED HIM TO THE WORLD OF AUTOMOTIVE FINANCE. HE CONTINUED TO BUILD UPON EXPERIENCE GAINED FROM VARIOUS POSITIONS HELD WITHIN THIS INDUSTRY. HIS KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED AS HE HAD BEEN GIVEN INCREASING LEVELS OF RESPONSIBILITY THROUGHOUT HIS 40 YEARS IN THIS BUSINESS.
FROM 1971 TO 2008 ANTHONY WAS ASSOCIATED WITH PLANET HONDA IN UNION, NEW JERSEY, THE LARGEST HONDA DEALER IN THE NORTHEAST, CONCLUDING HIS SERVICE AS ITS PRESIDENT AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER. ANTHONY’S BUSINESS ACUMEN HAS BEEN WIDELY ACKNOWLEDGED AND INCLUDE: THE CHRYSLER MOTORS HONOR SOCIETY OF ACCOUNTANTS CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENT BUSINESS PRACTICES, THE PONTIAC MOTOR DIVISION HONOR ROLL OF ACCOUNTANTS AWARD AND THE AMERICAN HONDA KEY TO EXCELLENCE AWARD. HE PRESENTLY SERVES AS DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE OF THE JOINT MEETING OF UNION & ESSEX COUNTIES HEADQUARTERED IN ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
ANTHONY MARRIED THE FORMER NANCY ANN ROSSI IN 1964. AFTER SPENDING THEIR EARLY YEARS IN NEWARK, ANTHONY AND NANCY MOVED TO UNION IN 1968. THEY ARE THE PARENTS OF THREE ADULT CHILDREN; DENISE, ANTHONY III AND SALVATORE. THEIR FAMILY INCLUDES DAUGHTERS-IN-LAW MARIA AND ANDREA AS WELL AS SEVEN GRANDCHILDREN: ALANA, DANA AND EDWARD ORZECHOWSKI III, ANTHONY IV, JULIANA, BRIANNA AND CRISTINA TERREZZA.
FOR ANTHONY, COMMITMENT TO FAMILY VALUES IS CLOSELY MIRRORED IN HIS DEDICATION TO COMMUNITY AND TO CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS. HIS PAST AND PRESENT VOLUNTEER SERVICE INCLUDES THE UNITED WAY, UNICO, THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS, THE COLUMBIA ITALIAN AMERICAN CLUB AND THE BOYS’ TOWNS OF ITALY, WHO HONORED HIM IN 2002 WITH THEIR “MAN OF THE YEAR” AWARD.
AFTER CHAIRING THE TOWNSHIP OF UNION PLANNING BOARD FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, ANTHONY DECIDED THAT HE NEEDED TO MAKE A MORE FORMAL COMMITMENT TO HIS TOWN. IN 1996 HE RAN FOR THE TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE AND WAS ELECTED. HIS LEADERSHIP AND BELIEF IN THE COMMUNITY WAS RECOGNIZED BY THE UNION ELECTORATE WHO RETURNED HIM TO OFFICE FOR SIX ADDITIONAL TERMS. DURING HIS TENURE ON THE COMMITTEE, ANTHONY SERVED AS MAYOR OF UNION IN 1998, 1999, 2004, 2009 AND 2010. HE HAS OVERSEEN THE OPERATIONS OF THE POLICE, PUBLIC WORKS, RECREATION, SENIOR CENTER AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS. HE HAS RECEIVED MANY AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS FOR HIS PUBLIC SERVICE. ANTHONY’S CONTRIBUTIONS INCLUDE LEADERSHIP ROLES – IN RELOCATING THE METHADONE CLINIC, IN ESTALISHING AND BUILDING THE UNION SENIOR CITIZENS CENTER, IN COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS SUCH AS HOME DEPOT, TARGET, WHOLE FOODS AND STOP & SHOP, IN CONSTRUCTION OF THE UNION TRAIN STATION, IN THE BUILDING OF THE FRANKLIN STREET FLOOD WALL, IN BRINGING AUTUMN RIDGE ADULT COMMUNITY TO THE TOWNSHIP, IN CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW JEFFERSON CENTRAL FIVE SCHOOL, IN BUILDING THE NEW VAUXHALL BRANCH OF THE UNION PUBLIC LIBRARY, IN ENCOURAGING ELIZABETH GAS TO LOCATE ITS NEW CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS IN UNION, IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF RIZZUTO PARK AND IN INTRODUCING CITI AND COMP STAT FOR GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY AND EFFICIENCY.
TO ALL WHO KNOW AND WORK WITH HIM, ANTHONY IS THE “GO TO GUY” WHEN A DIFFICULT TASK IS TO BE UNDERTAKEN. KNOWN FOR HIS QUIET COMMAND OF A SITUATION, ANTHONY EMBODIES THE DEFINITION OF A HUMANITARIAN. LOVE OF FAMILY, LOVE OF COUNTRY AND LOVE OF COMMUNITY FORM THE EPICENTER OF HIS LIFE. ANTHONY LIVES HIS LIFE HAPPILY AND HUMBLY. HE BELIEVES, IN THE SPIRIT OF JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY, “ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY WILL DO FOR YOU, ASK WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY.”
NOW, THEREFORE, ON BEHALF OF THE TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE, I, MANUEL FIGUEIREDO, MAYOR OF THE TOWNSHIP OF UNION, IN THE COUNTY OF UNION, STATE OF NEW JERSEY, HEREBY COMMEND AND CONGRATULATE ANTHONY L. TERREZZA, JR. AS HE CELEBRATES HIS RETIREMENT WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND WISH HIM CONTINUED GOOD HEALTH AND HAPPINESS IN THE YEARS AHEAD. MAY GOD ALWAYS BLESS HIM.